


If I Only Could

by justbygrace



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-30
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-27 15:19:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1715306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bodyguard AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	If I Only Could

Twenty-six confirmed kills, countless lives saved in his medical tent, a bronze star, and two purple hearts and John Smith - nicknamed Doctor - came home to the country he had spent six years protecting penniless, abandoned, and unable to find work. His family was gone, killed long before he'd left, and he'd never been the best at maintaining friendships. His homecoming was less than exemplary and after a few aborted attempts to find work (he was too old, too grumpy, too bitter, too likely to start punching people), he gave that up and started on a mission to kill himself the legal way. His Brig stumbled -literally - over him at a backdoor pub and the next morning (well mid-afternoon) took him to an interview for "personal security."

The Doctor hadn't the slightest interest in protecting anyone or in working or in not dying, but the Brig was a good man who had proved himself worthy of at least humoring. So the Doctor shaved off the worst of his scruff, brushed his teeth, and shrugged into his leather jacket (better at defending the parts of himself he wanted protected than any armor), gritting his teeth to get through the interview and be on his way. They pulled up to the largest mansion in this part of England (and any other part of the rumors were to be believed) and the Doctor was ready to bolt; this was far from his cup of his tea or his shot of whiskey, as the case may be. The Brig stopped him, reminding him of the pay benefits and the importance of maintaining steady employment and would it really kill you to smile, Doctor? (Answer: yes.)

Meeting the Tyler's (estimated net worth higher than the royal family) was an experience in and of itself. Pete, Jackie, and little Tony were less than friendly, staring at him like a disease had suddenly grown feet and invaded their perfect life. Staring back at them, the Doctor wasn't inclined to keep any of them safe or secure. He was thirty seconds away from stalking out of the room when the whole mood changed and everyone's heads turned towards the door. 

Staring at the vision in the doorway, the Doctor was half convinced he had died and gone to heaven, if he still believed such a place existed or would accept him. She was tall, but not willowy, beautiful, but not generic, put together, but not faking it. Her smile encompassed the room, lit up the shadows, and made him forget how to breathe. She was introduced as Rose Tyler and his especial charge, though from the looks Pete and Jackie were giving him, they were less than sure they still wanted him to protect their daughter. Rose decided the matter, shaking his hand with a tongue-touched smile and pronouncing he was the one. The Brig was all prepared to talk the Doctor into it, but the Doctor had long since forgotten he was still in the room and so the man shrugged and left him to it, wondering if the Doctor had any idea what it was he was getting himself into.

He didn't. Six years spent behind enemy lines had not prepared the Doctor for following Rose around while she flirted with pretty boys, appeared at special events, partied at clubs, and generally danced through life. She was smart, talented, and witty - going toe-to-toe with him over safety decisions he made she didn't agree with or political views or whether or not one could subsist solely on chips for days on end. Most of the Doctor's showers were cold and most of his dreams were hot and he wasn't certain if his life had turned out to be a little bit of heaven or a little bit of hell.

Protecting Rose was something the Doctor threw his entire being into, channeling his post-war aggression into making sure no harm befell his charge. She'd grown used to a lifetime of having bodyguards (her father's fortune and her own beauty and friendly nature combined to make her a delectable target) and she lived with little fear. Rose's penchant for funding charities and hosting fundraisers was well-known and the Doctor found himself grudgingly admiring her when she sloughed off her duties as heir to the Vitex fortune to work at the soup kitchen or volunteer at the animal shelter or read to the kids at the orphanage (even though he also yelled at her for making his job a thousand times harder - she didn't much care and made that perfectly evident). And if he sometimes found himself holding a stray kitten or a stray child, well, Rose Tyler had him wrapped firmly around her finger and he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

Her family was an entirely different story; their initial opinion of him hadn't really changed. Pete was alright - the two men both cared about protecting Rose and that made them nod civilly at one another in the hall. Tony seemed to spend a lot of his free time coming up with new and inventive ways to aggravate the Doctor - fake blood, fake emergencies, fake dead animals - and it wasn't until the Doctor turned the tables and scared the living daylights out of him with a well constructed pop-up contraption that Tony granted him a grudging respect. Jackie was...frankly terrifying. The Doctor's private opinion was that she would do well in an interrogation bunker, as it was, she was the only one in the family who seemed to grasp the Doctor's infatuation with her daughter and she made her opinion on that quite clear to the extreme embarrassment of her daughter, the Doctor, and everyone within a several block radius.

Everything continued on pleasantly for some time. Oh, Rose and the Doctor had their share of arguments (he was adamant about her not joining a radical protest group known for their violent riots) and fights (she wasn't the slightest bit hesitant in yelling at him when his military-grade stare scared off potential dance partners) and scrapes (both of them swore to never mention the incident with the bats and crashed wedding ever again), but it was an amiable relationship -though not the one the Doctor dreamt of and exploded to in the safety of the dark and his own wandering hand. Rose would sometimes bat her eyelashes at him or kiss his cheek or cling to his arm, but he would brush it off knowing she didn't really mean it, not the way he meant it and definitely not the way that made him workout for hours just to get her smell or touch or sight of his mind. 

The day everything changed was just like any other day. A long list of things for Vitex Rose was supposed to do (a press interview, a photo shoot, and putting in an appearance at a meeting with Very Important People), followed by a long list of things she really wanted to do (a Firefighters fundraiser, a blood drive, and a late-night stop at her favorite club). The Doctor followed her around per the usual, his eyes taking in the surroundings, his thoughts firmly centered on the woman he was watching. It had been nearly a year since he had taken on the job and he was just wondering if he ought to bring this fact up or just treasure it in his heart when the world exploded.

The Doctor acted on instinct alone, hurling himself forward and protecting Rose's body with his own. The noise continued, a constant barrage of sound that was sending off a thousand warning bells. He knew he needed to get up, to make sure Rose was okay, to get her out of here, but for a long moment he couldn't move. At length he summoned the willpower and pushed himself to his feet, dragging Rose up with him. Holding her close to him, shielding her from the screaming and crying and blood, he led her through the establishment and into the street. Even here he couldn't hear - the sound of warfare still reverberating in his mind, but he could see and his eyes were telling him that Rose was fine, that Rose was unhurt, that Rose was looking supremely concerned about something. He opened his mouth to speak, but the world spun suddenly and the ground rushed up to meet him.

When he awoke it was to a too bright room with too white walls and too many concerned people staring at him. His defensive training kicking into the forefront as he struggled to get free. Through the haze of noise and light, he became aware of two hands on his, soft slim hands that framed his face, encouraging him repeatedly - it's okay Doctor, you're safe Doctor, I'm safe Doctor. He blinked, trying to force the face into focus but to no avail, the world was spinning again and the edges crinkled and went dark.

The next time he woke up, it was significantly quieter and darker and there was only one person there. Her head resting on his chest, one hand clutched in his, her body bent awkwardly forward from an unforgiving chair, Rose Tyler slept. His waking dislodged her and she sat up, blinking at him before her face crumpled and she was crying, begging him to not do that again; you scared me, I can't lose you, don't you dare leave me. He didn't find words - he never could, but he could do actions and he cut her off with his lips on hers. She met him greedily, hungrily, desperately...her lips and tongue and teeth punishing and forgiving him all at once. He wasn't sure, but it almost seemed like a promise of forever. He was eager - for the first time in a long time - to find out.


End file.
